Pictures of the Afghan war. Afghanistan - how it was (color photos)

Canadian soldier Chris Kezar of the NATO-led 7th Platoon rests after heavy fighting against insurgents in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, March 20, 2009.

Several US Army field artillery units are patrolling the area where the Taliban were spotted.

A shepherd boy watches his goats on February 27, 2009 in Nuristan province, northeastern Afghanistan.

US Marine Sergeant Nicholas Bender launches a drone aircraft(UAV) with a video camera in order to be able to observe the base along the entire perimeter and timely track the movements of the Taliban, whose attacks have become more frequent with the arrival of spring in the Farah province in southwestern Afghanistan.

An Afghan woman dressed in a burqa walks into an old bazaar in Kabul, March 4, 2009.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 military transport aircraft drops paratroopers as it flies over an opium poppy field March 22, 2009, near the U.S. Marine Corps base in Qalanderabad, a city in southwestern Afghanistan.

Farmer Haji Abdul Khan shows the Marines a poppy they damaged during the landing. The soldiers assured the old man that they would soon compensate him for all the damage. The Taliban often extort farmers for a percentage of their crop profits, while the Marines, on the other hand, do not have a mandate to eradicate opium poppies and rely on farmers to provide them with intelligence on the Taliban's activities.

An Afghan miner works at a coal mine in Pul-i-Qumri, about 170 km north of Kabul, March 7, 2009. Two hundred and eighty workers produce about one hundred tons of coal per day and receive for this from 70 to 110 dollars per month.

The man is suspected of collaborating with the Taliban, who fired rockets at a military base on the evening of February 18, 2009 in Nuristan province, Afghanistan.

The body of one of the rebels lies in a truck after a battle on March 26, 2009 outside of Ghazni (a city in Afghanistan, southwest of Kabul, located on a mountainous plateau). During the shootout, four Taliban were killed, seven policemen and two civilians were wounded.

A US Marine counterintelligence soldier and his interpreter met with Afghan locals on March 23, 2009, in Kirta, southwest Afghanistan.

Sergeant Darin Hendricks peers into a small cave in a remote village in Nuristan province in search of Taliban rocket launchers.

Mohammed Amin, an Afghan boy, sells balloons in a field in Kabul, February 27, 2009.

A woman makes prosthetic limbs at the Kabul Orthopedic Organization (KOO), Afghanistan.

A US Marine and an Afghan policeman during a joint patrol in the area. Local opium poppy and wheat farmers said the former Taliban-controlled region had become safer with the Marines' presence.

An M-4 rifle rests on sandbags at a US observation post in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

About 40 former Taliban (Islamic movement) fighters surrender their weapons to the Afghan government in Herat, west of Kabul, March 10, 2009, in a sign of reconciliation.

Men work in a salt mine in the Takhar province, northeast of Kabul. The mine produces more than 23 thousand tons of salt per year.

A soldier from the 2nd Gurkha Regiment (a British colonial force recruited from Nepalese volunteers) cleans his weapon at a patrol base in Musa Qala, Helmand province, March 27, 2009.

Marines The US observes lightning on the horizon during a search operation near the village of Bakwa, in southwestern Afghanistan. Information was received that a group of armed Taliban were approaching their base through a ravine hidden from view, but no one was eventually found.

22-year-old US Marine Lance Daniel Geary returns home in a zinc coffin. Photo taken at International Airport on March 26, 2009, in New York. Relatives, close friends and acquaintances gathered to see him off on his last journey.

Veterans salute the departing funeral cortege. Hundreds of people lined the street to see off those who gave their lives in the Afghan war.

Canadian soldiers carry the coffins of their compatriots at an airfield in Kandahar, a city in southern Afghanistan, on March 21, 2009.

Family and friends of Jack Trooper wait for a hearse during a repatriation ceremony in Trenton, Ontario, a province located in central Canada, on March 23, 2009.
Repatriation is the return to their homeland of prisoners of war and civilians who find themselves abroad as a result of the war.

Lt. Gen. David Hunton Jr. kneels to present the American flag to Nicole Bunting, widow of 29-year-old Capt. Brian Bunting, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Brian was killed by an improvised explosive device that went off near his car.

A CH-53 military transport helicopter flies over the rugged terrain of Farah province on March 17, 2009. Seventeen thousand additional US troops are soon scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Canadian soldiers from the NATO coalition are heading to Kandahar, a city that is a Taliban stronghold.

A Canadian military helicopter CH-146 flies over Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, March 27, 2009.

Canadian gunners open machine gun fire from a CH-146 military helicopter at Taliban groups.

Nasim is a heroin addict from Kabul. The drugs remain readily available, costing one dollar per dose. Afghanistan accounts for more than 90 percent of the world's heroin supply. The annual opium harvest is worth up to $3 billion.

A security officer guards a drug burning on the outskirts of a town in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. More than two thousand kilograms of drugs, consisting of heroin, opium and hashish, were burned along with bottles of alcoholic beverages.

Afghan riders play Buzkashi (“goat grab”), an equestrian competition known since the time of Genghis Khan. It is the national sport of Afghanistan and requires courage, agility and strength from participants.

An Afghan man waits with his sick child to see one of the French doctors of the 27th BCA (mountain ranger battalion) on February 19, 2009, in Nijrab, Kapisa province.

A British soldier walks on foot patrol through a poppy field in Musa Qala, Helmand province, March 28, 2009.

American Marines in an abandoned city in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

Airbase in Bagram (an ancient city and large airport 60 kilometers northwest of Kabul in the Afghan province of Parwan).

An Afghan policeman stands near the burned body of a suicide bomber near a US base north of Kabul on March 4, 2009. A suicide bomber blew himself up and his car at the main gate of the Bahamas airbase, injuring several contractors.

An elderly Afghan man shakes hands with a soldier of the 3rd Canadian Battalion in a Taliban stronghold in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province on March 30, 2009.

Afghan girls at school in the village of Sandarwa. Female education has been seriously undermined, with the insurgent Taliban pursuing a policy of intimidating female students. Women, who make up a significant part of the population of Afghanistan, were shot, burned, and those who attended school faced a threat to their lives.

Boys play in the snow on February 13, 2009 in Kabul.

Children in an overcrowded refugee camp in Helmand province, February 10, 2009.

U.S. Marines patrol during a sandstorm March 22, 2009, in remote Qalanderabad in southwestern Afghanistan.

Photos from the veteran's archive Afghan war Sergei Salnikov.

T-62D shot down on the Shindant-Kandahar road, region of Delaram province. 1985

2. Officers of the 5th Guards MSD with a friendly gang of dushmans. Old Herat. 1986

3. Old Herat.

4. Damaged BMP-2.

5. Junior Soldier Salnikov with the Afghan warrior Sarboz and Bacha. Shindant.

6. T-34-85 - firing point of the Afghan army.

7. Shindant airfield after the shelling.

8. Dushmansky "Katyushas". 107 mm RS made in China.

9. Column near Kandahar. T-62D with TMT-5 trawl.

10. Near Kandahar. The column passes the gorge.

11. UR-67, in the background is a BRDM-2 without a turret.

12. Trophies.

13. Local prison. Farah Province.

14. Leshchenko at the machine gun.

15. Leshchenko with a machine gun.

Afghan 1985-1987

Photos from the archive of Afghan war veteran Gennady Tishin.

2. Gennady Tishin - commander of the air assault battalion (in the center). Asadabad city, Kunar province.

3. Malishi - local self-defense units. Together with the 2nd MSB they are conducting an operation to eliminate the gang.

4. Joint operation with DRA troops. Maravara Gorge. Kunar Province.

5. T-54 tank of the DRA army blown up by a landmine.

6. Italian plastic anti-tank mine. It was used to undermine Soviet and Afghan armored vehicles.

7. Combat satellite of the 6th MSR company.

8. Birthday of the sergeant major of the 6th MSR, warrant officer Vasily Yakimenko.

9. Company fun monkey Masha.

10. Explosion of the Soviet T-62D tank.

11. War trophies. DP-27 machine gun (made in China "Type53"), Lee-Enfield "Boer" rifle (England).

12. Exploded military equipment.

13. Afghan trading machine. Conducting a convoy inspection.

14. "Rose". Neutralization of damaged equipment when retreating to reserve positions.

15. Military operation to eliminate a caravan with weapons from Pakistan. Logan Province.

16. Field medical station of the battalion.

17. Command of the 6th company of the 2nd SME.

18. Personnel of the 6th MSR on the implementation of intelligence data. Kunar River. In the distance is the territory of Pakistan.

19. The fortified point of the Mujahideen was taken.

I continue to publish photographs from the personal archives of veterans of the war in Afghanistan.
Photos from the personal archive of Major Vasily Ulyanovich Polishchuk. PV USSR.

2. Column to Chakhiab across the Pyanj River. 1984

3. On Sutham. 1984

4. Aerodrome in Moskovskoye, Odessa residents - helicopter pilots before departure in 1983.

5. In the smoking room at the Minbat behind there is a 120mm Sani 1984 mortar.

6. Beware of mines! 1984

7. Water intake from the Chakhiab well. Dushmans often mined this place.

8. A damaged water carrier. Chakhiab 1984

9. Tolya Pobedinsky with his nurse, Masha, 1983.

10. Trophies DShK, Zikuyuk and small things 1984

11. Hawn. Construction of a power line in the village of Khon, 1983.

12. MI-26 delivered the BTR-60PB. Hone 1984

13. Sarboz at the barbuhayka in front of the entrance to the point. Chakhiab 1983.

14. Head of Khada Mirvayz, Ulyanich, head of the airport and Nikolay Kondakov. Hone 1984

15. Captured bandit leaders with Safar (in front). Chakhiab 1984

16. A rusty mine along the Basmachi trail. Chashmdara November 7, 1983

17. Below the village of Sutham 1983.

18. Soyunov (in the center) plays chess. Chakhiab 1984

19. Chakhiab dukan maker at the bazaar 1984

20. Chakhiab blacksmith 1984

21. DShG after surgery (in the center of Lipovskikh, Volkov, Popov). Chakhiab 1984

Afghanistan 1983-1985

We continue our series of publications about the war in Afghanistan.

Airborne Corporal Sergei Boyarkin Airborne Corporal Sergei Boyarkin
(317 RAP, Kabul, 1979-81)

During the entire period of service in Afghanistan (almost a year and a half) starting in December 1979. I have heard so many stories of how our paratroopers simply killed the civilian population that they simply cannot be counted, and I have never heard of our soldiers saving one of the Afghans - among soldiers, such an act would be regarded as aiding the enemies.

Even during the December coup in Kabul, which lasted all night on December 27, 1979, some paratroopers shot at unarmed people they saw on the streets - then, without a shadow of regret, they cheerfully recalled this as funny incidents.

Two months after the entry of troops - February 29, 1980. - The first military operation began in the province of Kunar. The main striking force was the paratroopers of our regiment - 300 soldiers who parachuted from helicopters on a high-mountain plateau and went down to restore order. As the participants in that operation told me, order was restored in the following way: food supplies were destroyed in the villages, all livestock were killed; usually, before entering a house, they threw a grenade there, then fired with a fan in all directions - only after that they looked at who was there; all men and even teenagers were immediately shot on the spot. The operation lasted almost two weeks, no one counted how many people were killed then.

What our paratroopers did for the first two years in remote areas of Afghanistan was complete arbitrariness. Since the summer of 1980 The 3rd battalion of our regiment was sent to Kandahar province to patrol the territory. Without fearing anyone, they calmly drove along the roads and desert of Kandahar and could, without any explanation, kill any person they met on their way.

They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.
Kandahar, summer 1981

A photograph of that killed Afghan, which was taken from his belongings.

Here is the most common story that an eyewitness told me. Summer 1981 Kandahar province. Photo - a dead Afghan man and his donkey are lying on the ground. The Afghan man walked his way and led a donkey. The only weapon the Afghan had was a stick, with which he drove the donkey. A column of our paratroopers was traveling along this road. They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.

The column stopped. One paratrooper came up and cut off the ears of a killed Afghan - as a memory of his military exploits. Then a mine was placed under the Afghan's corpse to kill anyone else who discovered the body. Only this time the idea didn’t work - when the column started moving, someone couldn’t resist and finally fired a burst at the corpse from a machine gun - the mine exploded and tore the Afghan’s body into pieces.

The caravans they encountered were searched, and if weapons were found (and the Afghans almost always had old rifles and shotguns), then they killed all the people who were in the caravan, and even animals. And when the travelers did not have any weapons, then, sometimes, they used a proven trick - during a search, they quietly pulled out a cartridge from their pocket, and, pretending that this cartridge was found in the pocket or in the things of an Afghan, they presented it to the Afghan as evidence his guilt.

These photographs were taken from killed Afghans. They were killed because their caravan met a column of our paratroopers.
Kandahar summer 1981

Now it was possible to make fun of him: after listening to how the man hotly justified himself, convincing him that the cartridge was not his, they began to beat him, then watched him on his knees begging for mercy, but they beat him again and then shot him. Then they killed the rest of the people who were in the caravan.
In addition to patrolling the territory, paratroopers often ambushed enemies on roads and trails. These “caravan hunters” never found out anything - not even whether the travelers had weapons - they simply suddenly shot from cover at everyone who passed in that place, sparing no one, even women and children.

I remember one paratrooper, a participant in the hostilities, was delighted:

I would never have thought that this was possible! We kill everyone in a row - and we are only praised for it and given awards!

Here is the documentary evidence. Wall newspaper with information about the military operations of the 3rd battalion in the summer of 1981. in Kandahar province.

It can be seen here that the number of recorded killed Afghans is three times higher than the number of captured weapons: 2 machine guns, 2 grenade launchers and 43 rifles were seized, and 137 people were killed.

The Mystery of the Kabul Mutiny

Two months after the entry of troops into Afghanistan, on February 22-23, 1980, Kabul was rocked by a major anti-government uprising. Everyone who was in Kabul at that time remembered these days well: the streets were filled with crowds of protesting people, they shouted, rioted, and there was shooting throughout the city. This rebellion was not prepared by any opposition forces or foreign intelligence services; it began completely unexpectedly for everyone: both for the Soviet military stationed in Kabul and for the Afghan leadership. This is how Colonel General Viktor Merimsky recalls those events in his memoirs:

"... All the central streets of the city were filled with excited people. The number of demonstrators reached 400 thousand people... Confusion was felt in the Afghan government. Marshal S.L. Sokolov, Army General S.F. Akhromeev and I left our residence for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, where we met with the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan M. Rafi. He could not answer our question about what was happening in the capital...”

The reason that served as the impetus for such a violent protest by the townspeople was never clarified. Only after 28 years did I manage to find out the whole background of those events. As it turned out, the mutiny was provoked by the reckless behavior of our paratroopers.

Senior Lieutenant Alexander Vovk
Alexander Vovk

The first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov (right).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

It all started with the fact that on February 22, 1980, in Kabul, senior lieutenant Alexander Vovk, a senior Komsomol instructor in the political department of the 103rd Airborne Division, was killed in broad daylight.

The story of Vovk’s death was told to me by the first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov. This happened near the Green Market, where Vovk arrived in a UAZ along with the head of the air defense of the 103rd Airborne Division, Colonel Yuri Dvugroshev. They were not performing any task, but, most likely, they just wanted to buy something at the market. They were in the car when suddenly one shot was fired - the bullet hit Vovk. Dvugroshev and the soldier-driver did not even understand where the shots were coming from and quickly left the place. However, Vovk’s wound turned out to be fatal, and he died almost immediately.

Deputy commander of the 357th regiment, Major Vitaly Zababurin (in the middle).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

And then something happened that shook the whole city. Having learned about the death of their comrade in arms, a group of officers and warrant officers of the 357th Parachute Regiment, led by the deputy regiment commander, Major Vitaly Zababurin, got into armored personnel carriers and went to the scene of the incident to confront the local residents. But, having arrived at the scene of the incident, they did not bother themselves with finding the culprit, but in the heat of the moment decided to simply punish everyone who was there. Moving along the street, they began to smash and destroy everything in their path: they threw grenades at houses, fired from machine guns and machine guns on armored personnel carriers. Dozens of innocent people fell under the hot hand of the officers.
The massacre ended, but news of the bloody pogrom quickly spread throughout the city. Thousands of indignant citizens began to flood the streets of Kabul, and riots began. At this time I was on the territory of the government residence, behind the high stone wall of the Palace of the People. I will never forget that wild howl of the crowd, instilling fear that made my blood run cold. The feeling was the most terrible...

The rebellion was suppressed within two days. Hundreds of Kabul residents died. However, the real instigators of those riots, who massacred innocent people, remained in the shadows.

Three thousand civilians in one punitive operation

At the end of December 1980 Two sergeants from the 3rd battalion of our regiment came to our guardhouse (it was in the Palace of the Peoples, in Kabul). By that time, the 3rd battalion had been stationed near Kandahar for six months and was constantly participating in combat operations. Everyone who was in the guardhouse at that time, including myself, listened carefully to their stories about how they were fighting. It was from them that I first learned about this major military operation, and heard this figure - about 3,000 Afghans killed in one day.

In addition, this information was confirmed by Viktor Marochkin, who served as a driver mechanic in the 70th brigade stationed near Kandahar (it was there that the 3rd battalion of our 317th parachute regiment was included). He said that the entire 70th brigade took part in that combat operation. The operation proceeded as follows.

In the second half of December 1980, a large settlement (presumably Tarinkot) was surrounded in a semi-ring. So they stood around three days. By this time, artillery and Grad multiple rocket launchers had been brought up.
On December 20, the operation began: a Grad and artillery attack was carried out on the populated area. After the first salvos, the village was plunged into a continuous cloud of dust. Shelling settlement continued almost continuously. Residents, in order to escape from shell explosions, ran from the village into the field. But there they began to shoot them from machine guns, BMD guns, four “Shilkas” (self-propelled guns with four combined large-caliber machine guns) fired non-stop, almost all the soldiers fired from their machine guns, killing everyone: including women and children.

After the shelling, the brigade entered the village, and the remaining residents were killed there. When the military operation ended, the entire ground around was strewn with corpses of people. They counted about 3000 (three thousand) corpses.

A combat operation in a village, carried out with the participation of the 3rd battalion of our regiment.
Kandahar, summer 1981

Exactly 30 years ago, at the end of July 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev announced the imminent withdrawal of six regiments of the 40th Army from Afghanistan, and there were debates in the government about whether it was necessary to completely withdraw troops from the DRA. By that time, Soviet troops were fighting fighting in Afghanistan for almost 7 years, without achieving any particular results, and the decision to withdraw troops was made - after more than two years, the last Soviet soldier left Afghan soil.

So, in this post we will look at exactly how the war went on in Afghanistan, what conscientious soldiers and their opponents, the Mujahideen, looked like. Below the cut are many color photos.

02. And it all started like this - the introduction of the so-called “Limited contingent” Soviet troops to Afghanistan began on the eve of the new year, 1980 - December 25, 1979. They introduced mainly motorized rifle formations, tank units, artillery and landing forces into Afghanistan. Aviation units were also introduced into Afghanistan, later attached to the 40th Army as the Air Force.

It was assumed that there would be no large-scale hostilities, and the troops of the 40th Army would simply guard important strategic and industrial facilities in the country, helping the pro-communist government of Afghanistan. However, the USSR troops quickly became involved in hostilities, providing support to the government forces of the DRA, which led to an escalation of the conflict - since the enemy, in turn, also strengthened its ranks.

The photo shows Soviet armored personnel carriers in a mountainous region of Afghanistan; local female residents with their faces covered with burqas are passing by.

03. Very soon it became clear that the “classical warfare” skills that the USSR troops were trained in were not suitable in Afghanistan - both the country’s mountainous terrain and tactics contributed to this. guerrilla warfare", imposed by the Mujahideen - they appeared as if from nowhere, delivered targeted and very painful strikes and disappeared without a trace in the mountains and gorges. The formidable tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of the Soviet troops in the mountains were practically useless - neither the tank nor the infantry fighting vehicles could climb the steep slope, and their guns often simply could not hit targets on the mountain tops - the angle did not allow it.

04. The Soviet command began to adopt the tactics of the Mujahideen - attacks in small strike groups, ambushes on supply caravans, careful reconnaissance of the surrounding area to find the best paths, interaction with the local population. Around 1980-81, the image and style of the Afghan war had developed - roadblocks, small operations in the highlands carried out by helicopter pilots and airborne units, blocking and destruction of "rebel" villages, ambushes.

In the photo - one of the soldiers takes photographs of camouflaged firing positions on flat terrain.

05. A photo from the early eighties - the T-62 tank has occupied a commanding height and is covering the advance of a column of “fillers” - that’s what fuel tankers were called in Afghanistan. The tank looks quite shabby - apparently, it has been involved in hostilities for quite some time. The gun is pointed towards the mountains and the “greenery” - a small strip of vegetation in which a Mujahideen ambush can hide.

06. The Afghans called the Soviet troops “shuravi”, which is translated from the Dari language as “Soviet”, and the Soviet soldiers called their opponents “dushmans” (which is translated from the same Dari language as “enemies”), or “spirits” for short. All movements of the “shuravi” along the country’s roads quickly became known to the dushmans, since they received all the information directly from local residents - this made it easy to set up ambushes, mine roads, and so on - by the way, Afghanistan is still full of mined areas; mines were laid by both Mujahideen and Soviet soldiers.

07. The classic “Afghan” uniform is very recognizable thanks to the wide-brimmed Panama hat, which protected from the sun better than the classic cap of those years used in the SA. Sand-colored caps were also often used as a headdress. What’s interesting is that such panama hats Soviet army not at all an innovation of those years, very similar headdresses were worn by Soviet soldiers during the battles at Khalkin Gol in 1939.

08. According to participants in the Afghan war, there were often problems with the uniform - one unit could wear kits of different colors and styles, and dead soldiers, whose bodies were sent home, were often dressed in the old uniform of the 40s in order to “save” on one set of dress uniform in stock...

Soldiers often replaced standard boots and boots with sneakers - they were more comfortable in hot climates, and also contributed to less injury as a result of a mine explosion. Sneakers were bought in Afghan cities at dukan bazaars, and were also occasionally taken from mujahideen supply caravans.

09. The classic “Afghan” uniform (with many patch pockets), known to us from films about Afghanistan, appeared already in the second half of the 80s. There were several types - there were special suits for tankers, for motorized riflemen, landing jump suits "Mabuta" and several others. By the color of the uniform, it was easy to determine how much time a person spent in Afghanistan - since over time, the yellow “hebeshka” faded under the sun to an almost white color.

10. There were also winter “Afghan” uniforms - they were used in the cold months (it is not always hot in Afghanistan), as well as in high mountainous areas with a cold climate. Essentially, an ordinary insulated jacket with 4 patch pockets.

11. And this is what the Mujahideen looked like - as a rule, their clothes were very eclectic and mixed traditional Afghan outfits, trophy uniforms and ordinary civilian clothes of those years like Adidas sweatpants and Puma sneakers. Open shoes like modern flip-flops were also very popular.

12. Ahmad Shah Masud, field commander, one of the main opponents of the Soviet troops, is captured in the photo surrounded by his mujahideen - it is clear that the soldiers’ clothes are very different, the guy to the right of Masud is wearing a clearly captured cap with earflaps from the winter set of the Soviet uniform on his head.

Among the Afghans, in addition to the turban, hats called “pacol” were also popular - something like a kind of beret made of fine wool. In the photo, the pacol is on the head of Ahmad Shah himself and some of his soldiers.

13. And these are Afghan refugees. Purely outwardly, they rarely differed from the Mujahideen, which is why they often died - in total, during the Afghan war, at least 1 million civilians died, the greatest casualties occurred as a result of bombing or artillery strikes on villages.

14. A Soviet tankman looks at a village destroyed during the fighting in the area of ​​the Salang pass. If a village was considered “rebellious”, it could be wiped off the face of the earth along with everyone who was inside the perimeter...

15. Aviation occupied a significant place in the Afghan war, especially small aviation - with the help of helicopters the bulk of the cargo was delivered, and combat operations and convoy cover were also carried out. The photo shows a helicopter of the Afghan government army covering a Soviet convoy.

16. And this is an Afghan helicopter shot down by the Mujahideen in the province of Zabul - this happened in 1990, after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

17. Soviet soldiers, captured - military uniform They took them away from the prisoners and dressed them in Afghan clothes. By the way, some of the prisoners converted to Islam and wished to stay in Afghanistan - I once read the stories of such people who now live in Afghanistan.

18. Checkpoint in Kabul, winter 1989, shortly before the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The photo shows a typical Kabul landscape with snow-capped peaks mountains near the horizon.

19. Tanks on Afghan roads.

20. A Soviet plane comes in to land at Kabul airport.

21. Military equipment.

22. Beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

23. The shepherd looks at the departing column of Soviet troops.

These are the photos. Was this war necessary, do you think? I don't think so.

The location of Afghanistan, in the very center of Eurasia, at the junction of “South” and “Central” Asia, places it among the key regions in ensuring the stability of the military-political situation in the entire Central Asian region, where the interests of all the leading powers of the world intersect for centuries.

Soviet troops entered Afghanistan unhindered at the end of 1979. This issue contains photographs from the time of the Afghan war of 1979 - 1989.

The purpose of the entry of Soviet troops at the end of 1979 was to secure its southern borders and the USSR's desire to support the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

1. Soviet tanks near Kabul. (AP Photo):

2. Afghan combat helicopter. Provides cover for the Soviet convoy, which supplies food and fuel to Kabul. Afghanistan, January 30, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):

3. Afghan refugees, May 1980. (AP Photo):

5. Muslim insurgents with AK-47s, February 15, 1980. Despite the presence of Soviet and Afghan government troops, insurgents patrolled the mountain ranges along the Afghan border with Iran. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin):

6. Soviet troops on the way to Afghanistan in the mid-1980s. (Photo by Georgi Nadezhdin | AFP | Getty Images):

7. A detachment of Muslim insurgents near Kabul, February 21, 1980. At the time, they were attacking convoys moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan. (AP Photo):

8. Soviet soldiers are observing the area. (Photo by AP Photo | Estate of Alexander Sekretarev):

9. Two Soviet soldiers captured. (AFP Photo | Getty Images):

10. Afghan partisans atop a downed Soviet Mi-8 helicopter, January 12, 1981. (AP Photo):

11. Before the start of the withdrawal of Soviet troops in May 1988, the Mujahideen had never managed to carry out a single major operation and had not managed to take a single large city. (AP Photo | Barry Renfrew):

The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; Available estimates range from 670 thousand civilians to 2 million in total.

12. Afghan guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud surrounded by Mujahideen, 1984. (Photo by AP Photo | Jean-Luc Bremont):

Interestingly, according to UN statistics on demographic situation in Afghanistan, in the period from 1980 to 1990, there was a decrease in the mortality rate of the Afghan population compared to previous and subsequent periods.

13. Afghan partisan with an American Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, 1987. (AP Photo | David Stewart Smith):

USSR losses are estimated at about 15,000 people.

14. Soviet soldiers leave an Afghan store in the center of Kabul, April 24, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):

800 million US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget to support the Kabul government. From 3 to 8.2 billion US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget on the maintenance of the 40th Army and the conduct of combat operations.

15. A village destroyed during fighting between the Mujahideen and Afghan soldiers in Salang, Afghanistan. (AP Photo | Laurent Rebours):

16. Mujahideen 10 kilometers from Herat, waiting for a Soviet convoy, February 15, 1980. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin):

17. Soviet soldiers with German shepherds trained to detect mines, Kabul May 1, 1988. (AP Photo | Carol Williams):

18. Mangled Soviet cars in northeast Pakistan, February 1984. (AP Photo):

20. A Soviet plane comes in to land at Kabul Airport, February 8, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Boris Yurchenko):

21. Our plane, cars and shell casings at the airbase in Kabul, January 23, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):

23. Afghan firefighters and the girl who died as a result powerful explosion in the center of Kabul, May 14, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):

24. Soviet soldiers in the center of Kabul, October 19, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images):

25. Soviet and Afghan officers pose for the press in central Kabul, October 20, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images):

26. The beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, May 1988. (Photo by Douglas E. Curran | AFP | Getty Images):

27. A column of Soviet tanks and military trucks leaves Afghanistan, February 7, 1989. (AP Photo):

28. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the Soviet-Afghan border became significantly more complicated: there were shelling of the territory of the USSR, attempts to penetrate into the territory of the USSR, armed attacks on Soviet border guards, and mining of Soviet territory.